Tailing The Rat

Tailing The Rat
Third Person Pov.

The sun began its slow descent, bleeding crimson across the horizon and casting long, skeletal shadows over the city. Alina moved through the bustling streets like a phantom, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

She had spent the last hour trailing the man from Lucas’s room. a man she now knew was the owner of a luxury cruise line.

Every instinct told her he was the keeper of the evidence, the man holding the key to the cage Lucas had built around her. But as she turned the corner to head back toward the main road, the feeling of being watched became a physical weight.

A black sedan pulled smoothly to the curb, the window rolling down to reveal a face that made her breath hitch.

“Tailing strangers in this part of town is a dangerous hobby, Alina,” Eric said, his tone casual but his eyes as sharp as a predator's.

“Eric,” she managed, forcing a small, tight smile. “I was just… getting some air. I didn't realize I’d wandered so far.”

“Get in. I’ll drop you off.” It wasn't a suggestion. It was the command of a man used to being obeyed.

The interior of the car was silent, smelling of expensive leather and old coffee. The tension was a living thing between them, thick and suffocating. Eric steered with one hand, his posture relaxed, yet Alina felt like she was sitting in an interrogation room.

“So,” Eric started, his voice light, breaking the silence. “How is my best friend treating you? Aaron can be… a lot. He’s always been the type to burn the world down just to stay warm.”

Alina shifted in her seat, clutching her bag. “He’s fine. Protective. You know how he is.”

“Oh, I know,” Eric chuckled, glancing at her. “He’s a man of extremes. I just wonder if you’re prepared for the heat. You look a bit pale, Alina. Stress doesn't suit you.”

“It’s just the heat,” she lied, the moisture on her forehead feeling like ice.

“Here.” Eric reached into his pocket and pulled out a clean, white linen handkerchief. “You’re sweating. Don’t want you looking like a mess when you walk through those front doors.”

She took it, her fingers brushing his for a fleeting second. She wiped her brow, the soft fabric absorbing the dampness, and handed it back.

She didn't notice the way Eric’s thumb carefully pressed into the spot where her fingertips had lingered, nor did she see him slide the cloth into a sterile evidence bag hidden in the side compartment of his door.

“Take care of yourself, Alina,” he said softly as they pulled up to the estate. “The truth has a funny way of coming out, whether we’re ready for it or not.”

She stepped out of the car, the weight of his words chilling her to the bone.

As she entered the foyer, the sound of heavy thuds and labored breathing echoed from the living room. She followed the noise and froze.

Lucas was there, gripped by a physiotherapist, his face contorted with effort as he forced his weak legs to move. He looked like a wounded animal trying to regain its claws.

The moment the doctor left, the mask of the struggling patient dropped. Lucas slumped into a chair, his eyes fixed on Alina with a chilling, predatory focus.

“You think I’m weak, don’t you?” he spat, his voice a low, venomous rasp. “You think because I’ve been quiet, I’ve forgotten.”

“Lucas, please—”

“I wasn’t being quiet because of fear, Alina,” he interrupted, a slow, twisted smile spreading across his face. “I was being quiet because I was planning. Something huge.
Something that will tear that crown right off Aaron’s head and put you exactly where you belong.”

He leaned forward, the shadows of the room making him look like a demon. “I can’t wait to see the look on the media’s faces when the truth about you and him comes out. You’re nothing but a pawn, and I’m about to checkmate the King.”

Alina stood paralyzed, the threat hanging in the air like a noose. She could feel her hands turning cold as ice due to the pressure of his words.

He became so brave that he was threatening her openly in a wide living room, where anyone can walk in. And it just indicates one thing.

He's indeed planning something huge. He was all set to burn her alive. She gave him one last prickling gaze before leaving the place.

She had no idea that miles away, in the cold sanctuary of his private study, Aaron sat in total silence. He wore a headset, his jaw clenched so tight it looked like it might snap. The bug he had planted in the living room was working perfectly.

Every word Lucas spoke, every threat, every drop of venom, was being recorded.

Aaron slowly reached out and clicked the audio off. The silence that followed was even more terrifying. The confirmation of Lucas’s betrayal didn't just anger him; it ignited a cold, calculated resolve.

His brother was no longer family. He was a, cancer that needed to be excised.

But Lucas wasn’t the only one with secrets. Aaron stood up, his coat swirling around his ankles like a dark cloud. If he was going to burn this world down, he would start with the man wh
o had let it all happen.

It was time to pay her father a visit.